Statement by India on Agenda item 6, Point 2 - Social Dialogue and Tripartism during the 107th session of International Labour Conference 2018
(Geneva, Switzerland)
A recurrent discussion on the strategic objective of social dialogue and tripartism, under the follow-up to the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008
Point 2: How can social dialogue become more inclusive and address current and future challenges?
Thank you chair.
It is critical that social dialogue is used by the different constituents as a means to evolve innovative and workable strategies to respond to the challenges of change. At the same time, it is equally significant to recognize that this process will require re-configuration of the contours of the social dialogue rather than getting fixed in prevailing norms and practices.
India has a large informal sector particularly in agriculture and rural sector. The verification of Central trade unions for the purpose of national level consultation recognizes the presence on trade unions in these sectors as a parameter of their representativeness thus including their voices in the national consultative process. ILO need to compile the best practices adopted by different countries to increase the inclusiveness of social dialogue.
Another feature of India’s national setup is institutionalized mechanism for capacity building of unorganized workers and smaller trade unions associated with these. Central Board for Workers education works across the country with the objective of awareness raising and capacity building with respect to labour laws , redressal and collective bargaining mechanism avialble therein and welfare programs of the government for the workers.
Considering that ‘technology cycle’ is becoming shorter and shorter and that skills need to be attuned on a continuous basis, it becomes imperative to position skills and employability at the centre of social dialogue. This is particularly important at the firm level as workers whose skills are not adjusted face the risk of redundancy. Effective dialogue must take place on identifying the emerging forms of technology and the requisite skill sets both in the short term and the medium term. Inputs from research related to skill forecasts undertaken by specialized institutions can be used as a guide to facilitate such discussions.
India has always advocated labour mobility so that its workers are able to avail best employment opportunities nationally and internationally. While we recognize the possibility of cross border dialogue, we would encourage a cautious approach while working on the character of the process and institutions.
ILO should be cautious of deviation from the traditional tripartite set-up. We reiterate that instead of creating a tripartite plus set up, the workers’ and the employers’ unions should be encouraged to absorb the views of other relevant actors. ILO should focus on developing the capacities of its constituents in all the aspects of social dialogue and provide technical support for designing and implementation of projects that respond to the specific needs of the constituents.
I thank you chair!
29 May 2018
